Got a pre-approval letter from Sears yesterday with my maiden name. How come? I got married in the summer of 2000 & opted out of all 3 CRAs in May 2001. Equifax is the only CRA which still has my maiden name and no other mail comes in my maiden name anymore. When I applied for Macys last week, I opted out of their marketing stuff as well. Are Macys and Sears both subsidiaries of Federated Department Stores? I suspect Macy's is the culprit since I also got my Macy's card & bill yesterday. Is it possible that Equifax would have sold my name to Sears? TIA
I'm not sure who sold your name to Sears. I got that same offer in the mail yesterday as well (posted about it on another thread). Also, the former tennant who use to live where I live got it too! By they way...what did Macy's set your guideline at?
I wonder if Sears would divulge the source, if I asked. When I've called in re pre-approvals from other places, they couldn't use the "invitation #" to figure out where they got my name from. Since Doc posted the link about TU's Supreme Court appeal loss, I'm wondering whether there's a loophole in the Opt Out regulation. I was expecting $300, but Macy's gave me a $1500 CL. That was pretty cool
Well, maybe you have a secret file in your maiden name like I do. I can't pull it but all of the creditors get it. It is filled with inaccuracies but Equifax is being very difficult even though I mailed them a copy of my license and social security card. Maybe you only opted out of the credit reports that you know about. I've been married for 9 years and still get preapprovals in my maiden name. Kim
Rina, I still receive mail (and phone calls) addressed to me with my maiden name. I finally figured out who the culprit was...my college. They are the only place that refuses to change my maiden name without signing over my first born (well, if I had a first born). Dani
Um...hell yes that's pretty cool! At least they didn't clown you by giving you $100 bucks! I use to work for Macy's and one time I opened up an instant credit account for this girl in her early 20's. She was approved and I continued to use her new account to charge about $65 worth of stuff. The transaction suspended and I had to call authorizations. They would not approve her FIRST PURCHASE due to the fact that it was over her credit limit. I was dumb founded and asked what her limit was. They stated it was $50! I'm not kidding...I didn't think that was possible. For a while they were starting all instant credit account off with $100 limits. Guess they lifted that restriction. Macy's at one point had a HIGH internal theft rate (1 out of 3 employees was stealing) at one point. Employee's opening up fraudulent instant credit accounts was running rampant until they did a big sweep and people left in cop cars (according to my girlfriend who worked there after I left). It was crazy...
Dani: you're probably right. Colleges & universities get a ton of money from CC. thecatslai: The secret file thing sounds disturbing. How did you even find out you had one? I once tried to see if I had one by ordering with my married name & that didn't go through. EX & TU changed my name right over the phone, but EQ insists on a copy of my marriage certificate. MP$40: $50 CL is nothing considering their prices! Macy's was the the 2nd or 3rd CC I ever applied for like 6 years ago. They declined my app after the saleswoman kept insisting! EEK - I wanted to sink into the floor. I never went back there till a couple of years ago.
